


Before we go

by GeoLinden



Category: Before We Go (2014), Captain America (Movies), Chris Evan - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Boston, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29294712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeoLinden/pseuds/GeoLinden
Summary: Your company has sent you to Boston to close a deal on the same day you have the most important date of your life at night in New York. Things get complicated, you can’t return to New York and you have to spend the night in Boston with a complete stranger.
Relationships: Chris Evans (Actor) & Reader, Chris Evans (Actor)/Reader, Chris Evans (Actor)/You, Steve Rogers & Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the movie.
> 
> Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
> 
> MY TUMBLR: https://ladyeliot.tumblr.com

“Sometimes we are so focused on finding our happy ending that we don’t learn to analyse the signs that life offers us”.

It was a clear night in April, the city of Boston, Massachusetts had welcomed you that morning, but at that moment you needed to leave it behind. You had made an express trip from New York, your home, for business knows no days or hours, so it had fallen to you to catch an early Sunday morning train to Boston, when you had a really important Sunday night appointment. You figured it wouldn’t take you too long to close the deal with the big multinational, and that you’d be in New York before ten o'clock at night. So that morning you headed for Pennsylvania Station in downtown Manhattan and 3 hours and 40 minutes later you arrived at South Station in downtown Boston.

You had never been to Boston, a magnificent city with a great history that you barely had time to enjoy. You arrived carrying your coat and your bag, you didn’t need anything else, besides, the less stuff you had on you the better it would be for your mobility. When you arrived you realised that the city was preparing for a nearby holiday, as many streets were blocked off, preventing traffic from passing, which meant that your taxi driver was late arriving at the company’s headquarters located in “East Boston”.

The meetings went on forever, your potential shareholders were not entirely sure about the future that your company could offer them, and so the hours passed incessantly without reaching any concrete agreement. The constant interruptions from your boss wanting to know the situation were not very helpful either, and the bad mood that was taking over your body, as it was your day off and therefore you shouldn’t be there, was a little bump in the road.

You had set yourself a time limit, but you knew you could not return to New York City without signing that agreement or you would be removed from your position at the company. Sometimes you begged for that reinstatement, because the position of head of external relations made your life more bitter than happy. This was evident when your partner of five years, Michael, decided to give up on your relationship, you were barely home and you discovered that he had been having several encounters with a former colleague at work, finally when you told him you knew, your partner opted to leave home and take a job in Los Angeles.

At first you thought that maybe it was for the best, that you should focus on your work projects, for which you had been fighting so hard, but eventually you realised that you were really in love with him, although at no time did you justify his cheating behind your back. Your ex-partner came to you two months later regretting his behaviour and asking for a second chance, at first you were reluctant, but finally you agreed to have dinner with him, he was returning to New York for a work trip, because you loved him. The dinner was that night, the Sunday night you had to travel to Boston, Michael had been in New York for a week, but you had barely seen each other, and first thing Sunday morning he returns to Los Angeles, so you only had that opportunity to find out if it was really worth it to resume something that had been lost.

The contract was signed at exactly 9:20pm, you had to call Michael, and inform him that you were not going to make it to the dinner, but that you would go to his hotel first thing in the morning to have breakfast with him before he got on the plane, he begged you to go straight to his hotel when you arrived, whatever time it was, you finally agreed.

You were inside a taxi, the last train leaving for New York was at 9:50pm, but as usual the universe was against you. The streets had become increasingly busy, the driver informed you that the following day was Patriot’s Day, an annual event commemorating the battles of Lexington and Concord, and the Battle of Menotomy, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. You tuned out completely as I explained the history of the holiday, just staring out the window praying that you would be on time to catch that train.

“How far is it from here to South Station?” you asked when the car could barely move because of the traffic jam.

“Fifteen minutes if you walk fast and shortcut down this avenue,” he commented.

Without a second thought, you offered him the fifty-dollar note you had in your hand at the ready and dashed out of the car, dodging the other cars that were crowded together at the intersection. Your negative orienteering experiences were alleviated by the city’s good signage that constantly pointed you in the direction of the South Boston station. Your mind was focused on getting there before 9:50pm when the last train was leaving, it was now 9:30pm and if you were informed by the conductor that if you were going at a brisk pace you could be there in 15 minutes, that is 9:45pm.

You ran trying to dodge the crowd, constantly uttering “excuse me” and keeping a proper rhythm in your breathing so as not to choke before your time, you could tell it had been months since you had been out for exercise as you had to stop twice to catch your breath. But what took your breath away the most was when you discovered that you were carrying too little weight. You stopped dead in your tracks and looked at your arms, your hands, your bag was gone. You looked around, quickly thought about whether you might have lost it running, but realised that you had actually run so fast out of the taxi that you had completely forgotten to take your bag.

Panic invaded every limb of your body, but as you reached into your coat pockets and found the ticket that would take you back to New York you thought that was all you really needed, everything inside your bag might be replaceable in the future. You continued on your way to the station, in a few minutes you could see the entrance at the bottom of Federal Street. You quickened your pace across the square, as you tried to enter you bumped into people who were trying to exit the building slowing you down. You entered the hall a little disoriented and ran towards the platforms where the trains were leaving, you ran down the stairs, but your eyes discovered something that your mind did not want to think about, they saw how the rear lights of the last train were lost in the darkness of the night.

Your body stood still for a few moments, while your consciousness didn’t understand what had just happened, or rather didn’t want to understand it. In your right hand waved the ticket to New York, your only possession at the moment. You stood to one side of the stairs, so that the last two people could walk up to the station hall, while you stood for a few minutes staring at the train tracks.

You decided that all was not lost, there would be more train or even bus stations that could take you to New York that night. You retraced your steps, finding that the shops in the hall were closing, but the information window was still open. You waited until he had finished serving a customer and bowed to the gentleman.

“Excuse me, I need to go to New York tonight,” you said, showing him the ticket, being as calm as possible.

“I’m sorry, but the last train had just left,” he said without so much as a glance at you, counting the cash register.

“I know, I know, but I need to get to New York tonight,” you insisted again. “I suppose there’s another train station in the city, or even a bus station.”

“I’m sorry, but the last transport to New York City is the Northeast Regional that just left this station right now,” he finally laid his eyes on you, interlacing his fingers. “But first thing tomorrow morning, you’ll have trains available again so you can go to New York.

"First thing tomorrow morning?” you asked a little hopefully.

“At 6:05am the first train leaves for Pennsylvania Station,” he reported, staring at his electronic screen.

“I can’t wait until 6:00 am tomorrow,” you said, raising your tone a little. “Do you think a taxi driver would be willing to take me to New York?

"You can try,” he said with a shrug. “But they’re not licensed to drive outside the state of Massachusetts.”

“Okay…” you said with a blank stare. “Excuse me, one last thing, if I forgot my purse in a taxi, where can I go to pick it up?”

“If he is an honest person he will have taken it to Boston police headquarters to be handed over to the Hackney lost property division,” he informed you, offering me a small card. “Call here.

"Alright, thank you.” Your voice sounded utterly depressed.

With a tremendous disappointment inside you, you definitely accepted his words and did not insist any more, you understood, the last means of transport connecting the Boston and New York line had left, there was no more. You took a breath nodding and realising that there was a person behind you who wanted to ask a question, you opted to head towards the nearest seats to think. You were in a completely unfamiliar city, you had to spend the night there and you had barely a coat and a useless train ticket until the next morning. Even though your thoughts were racing, trying to find a solution, you couldn’t find one, there were too many negative feelings that were making you despair.

“Are you all right?” the voice came from a shadow that covered the light of the station’s harsh floodlights.

You didn’t answer him, just stared at him and nodded slowly, but at that very moment a station cleaner approached you.

“I’m sorry but we are closing,” he reported.

“Closing?” you asked a little confused.

“The station closes from 10pm until 5am,” he commented, walking away again.

That was another inconvenience your head didn’t count on, you had thought that since you had to wait for a new train to leave, you could spend the night there, since you had nowhere else to go, nor money or identification that could allow you to do so. You nodded to yourself and totally disoriented you got up from your seat and headed towards the main exit of the building, you barely noticed what was going on around you, you didn’t even realise how the boy who had asked you if you were alright had followed you and stood next to you.

“Do you want to share a taxi?” he asked, which brought you out of your thoughts for a moment.

“Excuse me?” you had barely heard his words.

“I was saying do you want us to share a taxi,” he repeated again showing kind features on his face.

“No, I’m fine,” you said and looked around again for solutions.

The young man was not giving up after your refusals, so he finally closed the taxi door and approached you again, hoping that you would finally accept the help he wanted to offer.

“Really?” he insisted, “Because it didn’t look like it in there.”

“I’m fine,” you frowned, beginning to feel uncomfortable at his intrusion, you didn’t need anyone to help you. “Really.”

“Alright,” he held up his hands and headed towards the taxi again. “Hey buddy! Do you think you could get this lady closer to New York?”

His words fully captured your attention, you raised your face and turned it towards the man who was talking to the driver through a rolled down window.

“To New York City?!” exclaimed the driver somewhat taken aback by your words.

“Yes!” you exclaimed running towards the rolled down window. “Specifically to Midtown Manhattan, the corner of Sixth Avenue and Bryant Park.”

“Midtown Manhattan, Sixth Avenue and Bryant Park,” repeated the young man who was trying to help you.

“That would be an all-night drive,” declared the taxi driver hesitantly. “Besides, I can’t drive in another state, they might take away my license…”

“I’ll pay whatever it takes if you can get me back to New York by six in the morning,” you begged with a thread of hope in your gut.

“It must be 220 miles one way,” he said, doing the math. “All told, about 440, counting gas and the risk that my license could be revoked…”

“Whatever,” you insisted again. “I’ll pay you anything.”

“All right,” nodded the man, gesturing for you to get into the taxi. “We’ll leave it at $1,200.”

“Thank you very much, I’ll pay you as soon as we get there,” you informed humbly before getting into the car, which caused the situation to take an unexpected turn.

“Wait, I need half the money up front,” the taxi driver began. “Otherwise we won’t get out of this block.”

“The truth is…” you began as your hopes dwindled.

“It’s on me,” said the young man next to you quickly, which caused you to half-open your lips and look at him in complete bewilderment. “You’ll pay me back.”

“Wait,” you said stopping his hands before he pulled out his credit card. How do you know I’ll pay you back, and why are you doing this?“

"I guess I’m trying to do my good deed for the day,” a smile appeared on his face, which confused you even more if that was possible. “Besides, do you have another option?”

The boy offered his credit card to the taxi driver, and you were stunned when you realised that the man was paying 600 dollars to a complete stranger to travel to New York. Who the hell does that these days? Who was that guy?

“This card is expired,” the driver reported, handing the card back to him through the window of the car.

“Expired?” the boy looked at it. “Shit, it expired last week. Don’t worry, I’ve got another one.”

The blue-eyed young man looked at you and smiled a sheepish smile, you had hardly smiled all day.

“It’s not active,” the taxi driver reported again, handing back the card.

“Shit…” the young man looked at her, “ Alright, let me get my phone out and… fuck, no battery.”

“Really?!” you exclaimed at the situation before your eyes. “Is there anything working in your life?”

That question you blurted out without thinking that the most unfortunate person at that moment was you, you even surpassed what had just happened to that boy. Finally the taxi driver, seeing the situation, decided to roll up his window and leave instead of wasting his time with you.

“ Oh shit!” you exclaimed, holding your hands to your head as you realised that your hopes were lost.

You were the same as you were, well worse, because now you had one more disappointment inside you. You opted that the best decision was to reap your own destiny, alone, so you returned to your original position and stood looking at the car traffic at that wide intersection in the city of Boston, wondering what to do. Surely you would find another taxi driver who would decide to take you to New York, even if you didn’t pay him on the spot.

“Well,” said the young man approaching you again. “What do you feel like doing?”

You narrowed your eyes, not understanding why he was trying to help you, nor the need he had to spend more time with you. What was clear to you was that he was not helping.

“Do you really have nothing better to do tonight?” you asked him somewhat quizzically, with an edge to your tone.

“Wow,” he arched his eyebrows in a smirk. “Is that how you treat someone who’s trying to help you?”

“Help me?” you laughed, shoving your hands into your coat. “Well, I guess it’s the thought that counts.”

“Yeah… even if my cards don’t work and I have no battery in my mobile, at least I’m at my destination,” he said with irony, provoking a shudder inside you. “Come on, what do you want to do, do you want to go to a hotel?” you frowned at his words to which he laughed as he contemplated your reaction. “Oh no, I mean spend the night, correction, for you to spend the night… Alright, leave it.”

“I’m not going to sit idle in a hotel,” you said gruffly. “I need to get to New York before dawn.”

“ Alright…”

You were both silent for a while, trying to avoid thinking about Michael, how he would be waiting all night for you to come and you probably wouldn’t even get there before he left for Los Angeles. But in trying not to remember your situation, you realised how rude you had been to this young man, who only seemed to be kind to you and whose name you barely knew.

“I’m sorry,” you said, turning to him and nodding.

“No problem,” he said smiling at you and held out his hand to you. “I’m Chris, by the way.”

You nodded looking at his hand, after all he was a complete stranger and somewhat peculiar, so you opted to offer a fake name.

“Adriana,” you finally shook his hand.

“Nice name,” he said, putting on his red sox cap, at which point you realised that his features were somewhat familiar. “I really love the night in Boston, so I could stay here forever, but I’m pretty hungry after the trip. I know you need to get to New York, but standing here you won’t be able to do much, do you feel like joining me for a bite to eat? We can figure something out while we eat.”

Those words reminded you that you hadn’t had a bite to eat since lunchtime, and your stomach felt resentful, it was begging for some food to be shoved in, so that plan sounded really good. On the other hand, you weren’t receptive to the idea of leaving the place with a complete stranger, and you didn’t have any money on you.

“I don’t have any money,” you reminded him. “And you don’t look like you do either.”

“Just because I don’t have six hundred dollars on me doesn’t mean I don’t have money on me so we can afford to eat something,” he said, flashing his sweet smile again. “Come on. I know just the place on Beacon Hill. It’s not too far from here.”

You took a full breath, surrendering to her idea and nodded, if you had to stay awake until six in the morning, at least you’d have a full stomach. So you started to walk to your left.

“Hey! Where are you going?” he asked hanging up his backpack again.

“Beacon Hill?” you pointed to your left.

“Beacon Hill,” he said, pulling his hand out of his pocket and pointing to the opposite side.

You accepted your confusion and misdirection and with a smile you nodded and stood next to him.

“Wow, you can smile,” he exclaimed. “It could be a nice night after all.”

> _**to be continued …** _


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your company has sent you to Boston to close a deal on the same day you have the most important date of your life at night in New York. Things get complicated, you can’t return to New York and you have to spend the night in Boston with a complete stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the movie.
> 
> Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
> 
> MY TUMBLR: https://ladyeliot.tumblr.com

On many occasions you have asked yourself if it makes sense to live life without love, to go on this journey without ever having fallen deeply in love. There was a time when you thought that without it, life would hardly make sense, but without knowing when and why it stopped being important to you.

You would never have believed the words that would have told you that you would be at eleven o'clock that Sunday night walking the streets of the city of Boston. An idyllic scene for a romantic movie, wandering the streets aimlessly with a stranger would be the perfect plot for any novel ending with a kiss, but it was obvious that it wasn’t going to happen.

You were walking beside that young man, called Chris, but even though your body was present, your head was still scheming for solutions. It was impossible to get your belongings until the next morning, when Hackney’s lost property division opened at 8:00 a.m., but that didn’t matter because you expected to be in New York by that time, so that option was out of the question. The only option was that there was a friendly taxi driver who was willing to drive you to New York for free until you reached your destination. Thinking about it, the drive to New York was about 4 hours, Michael’s plane left at 7:00 a.m. from JFK airport, so that gave you a minimum of 3 hours to find the taxi driver.

“We can make it,” encouraged the perfect stranger next to you. “We have until 2:00 a.m. to find someone willing to drive you to New York.”

“Did you just speak in the plural?” you asked curiously. “You definitely don’t have anything better to do tonight.”

“Not quite,” Chris smiled opening the door to the coffee shop, you had arrived at your destination. “Good evening Perry.”

“But what do my eyes see?” he exclaimed stepping out from the bar and offering Chris an energetic hug, “What are you doing here man?”

“You know, I’ve missed your pizzas mate,” he said, pulling away from him.

“I’m glad to hear that,” the waiter glanced at you and back at Chris. “The usual table?”

“You know me,” he smiled making a small motion with his head for you to pass in front of him.

The atmosphere was cosy, with an industrial feel to it, but you could breathe in the warmth accompanied with a hint of melted cheese, which caused your stomach to work up an appetite. Some of the surrounding tables, who had already finished their dinner, turned their attention to your companion just as you passed, but you didn’t ask any questions about it. Your table was somewhat out of sight of the others, tucked away in a small corner surrounded by curious black and white photographs that seemed to tell the story of the city you were in.

“Here you are,” the waiter concluded, offering you the letter, but Chris handed it back to him as he received it.

“You know what I’ll have,” he said, shedding his navy blue jacket.

“All right, a Neapolitan pizza,” commented the waiter, making a note on a small tablet in his hands.

You quickly looked at the menu, a bit stunned by the amount of variety of pizzas and burgers that the place had, so you definitely opted to trust the order that your companion had asked for and agreed to have the same as him.

“You guys will have it in a minute,” he remarked with a smile. “Enjoy your evening.”

“Thanks mate.” Chris said before he left, then took a breath, focused his gaze on you and intertwined his fingers. “Alright, are you going to tell me why you need to get to New York tonight?”

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, the last thing you wanted to do was tell your sad story to a stranger, no matter how much he was doing his part to help you that night. You opted to shrug your shoulders and perhaps offer a brief description of the situation, without going into too much detail.

“There’s someone who needs me to come tonight,” you explained, playing with your fingernails, without looking at him, “and that person is leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I understand,” he said, resting his barrette in his palm. “Then you must get to New York before he leaves.”

“He?” you repeated somewhat confused. “I never said at any time that it was a man.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, or her,” he quickly rectified. “What I do know is that you are probably referring to the person responsible for that mark on your left ring finger.”

You quickly averted your gaze to your ring finger, a white mark indicating that you had worn a ring on that finger could be glimpsed. Yes, it was true, you had worn it, an engagement ring, from an engagement that was never formalised. You frowned, you were going to tell him that he had no idea, but at that moment the waiter came back to bring you drinks.

“Water and beer,” he said, placing it on the table. “Ah, man, I’m sorry to ask you this, but could you sign a comic book for my niece afterwards? She’s in love with you, you know.”

Those words caught your attention somewhat, sign a comic book? Was he an illustrator, or maybe a writer? Curiosity again invaded your body, apparently you were not the only person who was hiding information in this strange relationship that had just emerged a couple of hours ago.

“That’s for sure my friend!” he exclaimed before you were left alone again.

“What about that?” you asked pointing to the waiter who had just left. “Are you in the comic book business?”

“Something like that,” he said playing with the beer bottle, but without answering your question. “And what do you do? What are you doing in Boston?”

“Trying to escape,” you said, refilling the glass of water. “I asked first.”

“Fair enough,” he took a small swig of beer. “Let’s just say a lot of my time is acting.”

“Actor?” You arched an entirely curious eyebrow. “Theatre?”

“Cinema,” he stressed somewhat hesitantly, as if he didn’t want to say it out loud.

“And comics?” you pointed to the right again, remembering the conversation with the waiter.

“It’s because of one of the characters I play,” he explained, playing it down a bit. “Marvel?” he asked hoping your brain would find a similarity. "Captain America?“

"Sorry, I know the character, yes,” you said with a chuckle, as you couldn’t find connections between the guy in front of you and what he was explaining, “but to be completely honest with you I don’t watch too much TV, or go to the movies, or am much of a comic book fan.”

“I have to admit that it’s a relief in part,” he confessed, picking up the beer bottle again. “Now I know this isn’t all a sham to take me out to dinner.”

“Excuse me?” you exclaimed with a laugh.

“I’m kidding,” he laughed along with you, but at that moment the waiter brought your dinner.

You had to assume that the pizza looked exquisite, and after weeks of eating convenience food, it was a delicacy in front of your eyes.

“So you’re in Boston for work?” you asked curiously, breaking your pizza into slices.

“Not exactly,” he said hesitantly. “I was born in Boston, I usually come here for seasons, well not here exactly, in Sudbury, it’s about forty minutes out of town. But on this occasion I came because tonight was a friend’s engagement party.”

“And what exactly are you doing here with me?” you asked squinting, very confused at the situation.

“It’s complicated,” he said taking a sip of beer. “Your turn.”

“Okay,” you nodded to yourself, taking a breath. “I work for a large multinational in New York, a hub for the finance sector, specifically I’m the head of external relations, so I’m constantly on the road. This morning I was in Boston to close a deal with two new shareholders.”

“That sounds very…”

“Boring, I know,” you finished his words, over time you had assumed that your life was completely linear, without any extra motivation.

“I was going to say important,” he rectified, smiling at you. “Do you like your job?”

The question of the century. How many times could you have asked that question without giving yourself an honest answer.

“Sure,” you said without thinking. “Well, I guess it won’t be as exciting as yours, but… it’s practical.”

“Wait, did you just say ‘practical’?”

That was the first time during the whole day that you were able to disconnect from your surroundings, forgetting the worries, the problems that were running inside you, it was just you having a pleasant conversation with a person who seemed to show interest in your opinions, in what you thought, a person who listened with interest to your every word. You could hardly remember the last time someone had managed to extract a hearty laugh from inside you, it was nice when he did. The minutes ticked by and you didn’t notice that the clock read 00:12am, but when you did, the mood cooled again and you became aware of the situation.

You opted to resume your walk through the streets of Boston, your vigour waning as the time passed, you were no longer so confident that you could carry out your plan, and although Chris was offering you numerous possibilities none of them seemed feasible with the little time you had left.

“It’s impossible,” you said, raising your arms and stopping in the middle of the pavement. “It’s over, it’s 1am, I wouldn’t make it even if I had a car at my disposal. The only thing that would save me from this situation would be a time machine.”

Chris looked at you thoughtfully, with a small smile on his face, which made you wonder what was going through his mind at that very moment. You had discovered that inside him there seemed to be nothing but positivity and answers to all your questions, which unsettled you a little but you also knew it was what you needed most at the moment.

“What?” you asked.

“Come on!” he exclaimed grabbing your arm and guiding you to the side of the enclosure. “It’s your lucky night, we have a time machine.”

“What?” you asked again, running face first into a public phone.

“It is said that the pay phones in Boston allow you to travel through time,” he explained, taking the handset and offering it to you. “It’s as easy as dialling the date you want to travel to and you can talk to your past self, tell it everything you need it to do, or not do, thus changing your past.” You looked at him amusedly confused, with a quizzical expression on your face.

“Go on, try it! It’s fun. I do it every time I come to town.”

“Well… I don’t really need to call very far, it’s enough to get in touch with my yesterday self,” you explained taking the handset from his hand and slowly bringing it to your ear.

“Well, let’s give it a try then,” Chris dialed four digits accompanied by some sounds coming from his mouth that made you smile again. “Beep, bop, beep, bop, bop. Ready! What would you like to say to yourself?”

“Here I go…” you said, encouraging yourself. “Y/N? Hi, it’s me… that’s you, from the future.” You couldn’t help but smile and shake your head. “She doesn’t believe me.”

“Y/N?” he asked curiously finding out what your real name was. “What happened with Adriana?”

“Well, I can’t go offering all my details to strangers,” you defended yourself somewhat embarrassed at the situation.

“Understandable, in my case Chris is my real name,” he laughed and shook his head, which turned your lips into a smile. “Well, it’s normal that she doesn’t believe you,” he shrugged, returning to the conversation. “It happens the first few times. You have to tell her something that only the two of you can know.”

“Hm… Y/N?” you thought to yourself. “Oh, remember Mum’s blue dress that we loved so much? Remember the last time we tried it on at home, when we were walking down the stairs and it ripped, and we had to get rid of it? We never told anyone what happened, mum thought it got lost in the move to the new neighbourhood…”

Chris was watching you leaning on the payphone with a tender smile on his lips, but you were too abstracted from your surroundings to notice. He realised that he could easily manage to alleviate all the problems that enveloped you even if he hardly knew what exactly they were.

“She believes me,” you said, looking at Chris and covering the receiver with your hand, as if there was someone waiting on the line.

“Great,” he raised his arms. “Now just tell him whatever you need to tell her.”

You took a breath, as if this really was a turning point in your life and you could change the course of things. Your companion paid attention to the words that were about to come out of you in the next few moments.

“Y/N?” you asked through the earpiece. “Listen, I know that tomorrow is going to be a very important day for you, you have a trip to Boston that can get you a big development in the company and you also have a date with Michael in the evening. I’m not going to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, only you can be the only person to make the best decision, but what I am going to ask you is that if you could only choose one of the two things which one would you go with?” you were silent for a moment posing the question to yourself. “See you soon.”

After saying those words carefully you put the phone back in its place. Chris slowly stroked his lips, looking at you thoughtfully, trying to understand a little of the situation you were in at the moment.

"Did she tell you what she was going to decide? Whether to go to Boston or…”

“No,” you said, leaning against the pay phone yourself. “She wasn’t sure.” You looked at him silently. “What about you? Have you decided if you’re going to the party?”

“No,” he ducked his chin and shook his head.

“You at least have your chance in your hands,” you explained, being for the first time during the night the person who was trying to help him. “I think you should go back and be on your way, before I continue to ruin your night.

"The truth is, I missed that opportunity a long time ago.” Just as he had done a couple of minutes ago, you tried to get a glimpse of what those words meant, but neither of us had succeeded yet. “Besides, you’re not ruining my night, on the contrary, I’ve never had a night like this before.” He rested his chin on his hand. “So what do you want to do now?”

You let your gaze wander, you knew what you had to do before continuing with the situation, you had never given anything up until the last moment, but this was completely different. After asking your past self that question you had realised one of the most important things you had forgotten over time. It was true that you had been completely in love with Michael, that you thought he was the man of your life and that you wanted to spend the rest of your days by his side. On the other hand, since your childhood you had struggled to get a job like the one you had, to be able to use your full potential in a job that fulfilled you. Those two things were now on your mind, and you had realised that the third of them, perhaps the most important, you were not doing, which was to love yourself, to have time for yourself, to seize the moment, to laugh, to dream, to enjoy life, that was all you were missing.

“I think I know what I want to do right now,” you said, nodding to yourself. “Would you have any spare cash? I promise I’ll pay you all back.”

“Oh, come on!” he said shaking his head and offering you a couple of coins in the palm of his hand.

You took a couple of dollars and inserted them into the pay phone in front of you, Chris provided you with your private space, stepping a couple of metres away from the spot. The phone began to ring, at the same time as your stomach informed you of the nervousness you were feeling, which increased when you heard Michael’s voice through the receiver.

“Hi, it’s me,” you said almost in a whisper. “No, I’m still in Boston. […] I know, the truth is I’ve had a setback, I didn’t call you earlier because I thought I could work it out. […] No, I have to wait for the first train to leave. […] At 6 o'clock in the morning, so… […] I know. […] All right. […] Yeah, I’ll call you when I get home. […] I hope you have a good flight.”

Maybe it would be for the best, was fate playing in your favour? All you knew was that you planned to tell him how much you missed him, and that you were willing to fight for him again, but things weren’t going the way you thought they would.

“Are you okay?” asked Chris approaching you again.

“Yeah,” you nodded, looking into his eyes. “Maybe it’s for the best.”

The smooth line of your life that night was tapping into a wealth of emotions, evolving from despair, anger, joy and now sadness again, and it was your turn to share them with a perfect stranger.

“Come on,” Chris offered you his arm and you wearily took it, walking aimlessly away through the streets of Boston.

**To be continued…**


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your company has sent you to Boston to close a deal on the same day you have the most important date of your life at night in New York. Things get complicated, you can’t return to New York and you have to spend the night in Boston with a complete stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the movie.
> 
> Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
> 
> MY TUMBLR: https://ladyeliot.tumblr.com

Over time life had made you learn many things, all of them based on bad choices that had led you down the wrong paths, yet inside you didn’t regret any of them. You learned that when you love someone, or when you think you love them, you open the door to suffering, that was one of the sad truths you had found out. You assume that your heart may possibly end up breaking into a thousand pieces, or on the contrary, you may break that person’s heart. Either way, you know that you will never be able to see yourself the same way again, because a new learning will stick with you. That is one of the risks that all of us who bet on love must take.

Perhaps things had not gone in the best possible way, but what you knew at that moment was that the banks of the Charles River created a magnificent scene, which you could spend hours contemplating. The night of a new day was before you, your walk was slow, there was no longer any hint of haste within you, only the reflection of a disappointment that you wanted to consciously erase.

Your companion took up his position next to you, who tried at all times to erase your negative thoughts from your mind by asking you noncommittal questions or telling you anecdotes that involved him in that city.

“Are you really telling me?” you asked, plucking a flower you had just picked.

“I promise, I promise,” he insisted with a slightly embarrassed smile on his lips. “I was about seven years old when it happened.”

You smiled and shook your head, dropping the flower completely stripped of its petals from your hands. Silence once again invaded your space, but it was no longer as comfortable as it had been at the beginning, nor did it last long, the riverside was a place where you could find anything. A warm composition of notes that connected perfectly reached your ears, coming from the inside of a saxophone, both of you could not avoid directing your gazes towards the man who was in charge of putting the soundtrack to the lives of the people who passed by.

Your footsteps paused for a moment, enjoying the surround sound, which was the perfect complement to the scenery, and even if it didn’t seem so to you, to the scene you were living.Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a note, which he dropped onto the hat of the gentleman prostrate at his feet, who thanked him with a tilt of his chin.

“Small gifts Boston offers you,” he said, returning to your side.

“I must agree with you,” you smiled as you enjoyed your surroundings.

“Really?” he asked in surprise, eliciting a small chuckle from you. “Wow…”

Minutes enveloped you, but again you went on your way. Each of you was there for a specific situation, you had your own situation that was more than partly solved, but he was still by your side, not facing his own, which made you curious.

“Can I ask you a question?” you said cautiously.

“Please,” he said.

“Can I ask you what happened?” your words sounded cautious. “With the girl.”

You felt him catch his breath, surely he was expecting it, especially after we’d been together for more than three hours without you asking him about it.

“Lana,” he began, “was a great childhood friend. We did everything together, hung out at each other’s houses, you know.” He paused. “Things started to evolve, we started dating, she had always supported me in the decisions I made, but one day everything changed.” Chris walked looking straight ahead. “I guess new obligations came along, new plans for the future where we weren’t connected and that led to each of us being on different levels,” he shrugged. “Obviously these things happen, you can’t always end up with your childhood sweetheart.”

You expressed what you felt after listening to him through a wistful smile, connecting for a moment your gazes. His words professed that he still had feelings for this girl, it was completely evident to anyone who had listened. Sadly for you it felt as if there was some similarity in your stories, as if an outside force would not allow you to maintain a stable relationship with the one you loved.

“And tonight she’’s having her engagement party,” you reminded yourself.

“That’s right,” Chris let out another sigh.

“And you came all the way to Boston for nothing?” you subtly rebuked, not understanding what he was doing there with you and not showing up at that party to win back the love of his life.

“What do you mean?” he asked looking at you somewhat confused.

“I don’t know, weren’t you supposed to be a superhero? You told me that yourself at dinner,” you said comically in a serious tone. “Do you think Captain America would let someone else take his girl?”

Your words drew a small chuckle from inside him, but then he shook his head.

“Are you suggesting that I should show up at the party, grab Lana in my arms and run out of there?” he suggested with an arched eyebrow, and you shrugged.

“I’m suggesting that if you’re here for something, just ask yourself why and if you’re going to regret not doing it later,” those words came from deep inside you. “Don’t let it slip away.”

Perhaps it was those last words that hurt you the most, for you did it once, you let it slip away, not knowing what it would lead to until after a while, time evidently put all things in their place, and it put them in your place. Chris stopped his steps for a moment, you turned to him, he kept his life a little lost, but on his face shone a smile, he turned his gaze to yours and reached out his hand for you to take it.

“Come on,” he said confidently.

“What?” a naive little laugh escaped your lips as you looked at his hand.

“Come on, let’s go!”

The instant you took his hand you both broke into a sprint, dodging people, crossing the road without cars having stopped, keeping your heart rate at its maximum, running through alleyways to close the gap. You braked hard for a moment, “wait a minute,” you brought your hands to your heels, undoing the heels that were preventing you from running faster, “are you crazy?” Chris hesitantly smiled and took the heels in his hands, “let’s go!

You had no idea where you were headed, but what you did know was that it was one of the things you needed most, to feel the wind crashing against your face, to hear your breathing speed up next to his, to release all the adrenaline you had hidden inside you and to feel his fingers clinging to your hand tightly. That spirit that drove you to do things without warning, without thinking too much, to do crazy things came back after years hidden inside you.

"We… we’re almost there,” he said nearly breathlessly, causing you to give one last sprint. “Are you all right?”

You nodded without barely uttering a single word, for if you did you would surely lose what little air you held in your lungs. Federal style buildings accompanied you at all times, your surroundings seemed to slow down, it seemed as if you had drifted into a peaceful slumber, for in life you would have thought you would end up running with a stranger totally barefoot through the streets of Boston in the wee hours of the morning with barely a penny in your pocket and no idea where you were going.

Chris stopped in the middle of the pavement, in front of a large red brick building fully lit with antique lanterns that added a picturesque touch to the scene.

“This is it,” he muttered to himself.

He turned to you and bent down to help you put on your heels, laughing at the situation on the soles of your feet.

“They’ve had worse,” you said, downplaying the situation. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”

“I think so,” he said getting back to his feet.

You looked around, just behind you were small steps that offered the entrance to one of the Victorian style houses that complemented the Beacon Hill neighbourhood.

“Alright,” you nodded offering him an encouraging smile. “I’ll be waiting here if you need me.”

“No,” he frowned, shaking his face. “Come with me.”

After his answer you arched your eyebrows and looked at your attire, it was practically 19 hours since you had left your house, the attire was formal enough for a work meeting, but not for a party of that style, besides you really needed a shower.

“I’d really rather wait for you here and…”

“You’re the one who gave me the idea and prompted me to come, so you’re coming with me,” Chris approached you and grabbed your arm, begging you with his eyes to come inside. “I promise we won’t be long. Besides, you look great.”

You assumed that last compliment was an incentive for you to accompany him, but after analysing the look in his eyes, it was impossible for you not to accept his request. The atmosphere was exquisite, but the discomfort was present not only in you, but also in your companion whom you had seen like this before. The lift took you to the rooftop, where the festive atmosphere enveloped each of the people chatting and dancing entertainingly under the spotlights. Your hands connected again as you wove through the crowd, Chris trying to catch a glimpse of someone who looked familiar, but failing to do so on his own.

“Chris?!” a female voice came from behind you, causing him to turn around.

It was only a few seconds before you discovered in the blue eyes of your companion who the young woman who had appeared before you was, it was her, Lana.

“I thought you weren’t coming!” the two of them embraced and you just offered them some distance, with a shy smile of joy. “It’s so good to see you.”

As if they hadn’t seen each other for years they began a conversation in which they both never stopped smiling at any moment, you could barely hear them over the noise of the music, but you guessed what they were both saying to each other.

“This is Y/N,” Chris said pulling you out of your thoughts, Lana smiled and you both kissed each other on the cheek.

“Nice to meet you,” she said smiling.

“ Nice to meet you too,” you added, sharing her joyful expression.

The minutes passed and you waited curiously for Chris to present some option on the table that would make the two of you go and have a quiet chat somewhere out of the way, but the moment didn’t come, as they said goodbye without further ado, leaving you a little confused. Just as you had come up, you found yourself in the lift going down, your nerves seemed to have faded, and your ears had exchanged the indie music for absolute silence. You watched him out of the corner of your eye, he seemed to be in a down mode, perhaps pensive, the worst thing is that you knew how he might be feeling right now, so you decided to give him his space.

Once again you found yourselves tackling the picturesque streets of Beacon Hill, with no apparent fixed direction, two people, side by side facing each other, moving at a slow pace. The last thing you wanted to do at that moment was to upset him, but you felt a little responsible for how he was feeling, since the bright idea of encouraging him to do this had been yours, but you didn’t know what had happened to make him feel that way. Nor did you know how to act, until a unique opportunity presented itself before your eyes.

You stopped your steps, causing Chris to turn his face towards you, and made your way towards a pay phone just off the roadway. You took the receiver in your hands and gave him a glance with a raised eyebrow, finally catching a soft look of joy on his face, almost regretfully he approached you.

“What date would you like to call?” you said as if you were the one in charge of the phone dialling. “Maybe your six hours ago self to warn him of a very strange young lady he’s going to meet at the train station and that he’d better not think of going near to talk to her?”

You caused Chris to look you intently in the eye and with a sigh he picked up the handset, dialed a few keys, you barely noticed what they were because you were lost in his gaze.

“Chris! Hey! It’s me, you,” he kept looking at you, “listen, tomorrow you’re going to travel to Boston, you know why, Lana’s engagement party, well, before you go, a series of events will happen, crazy events,” he gave you a soft smile. “Well, you’ll see Lana, you’ll talk to her, you’ll laugh with her and you’ll say goodbye to her, that’s all, in those moments you’ll realize that the past is the past, she’s happy and you’re happy, that’s… that’s all that matters.”

Without taking his eyes off you, he took the receiver away from his ear and hung it up, releasing the air in his lungs. You both stared at each other in silence for a few moments, until you decided to offer him your hand as he had done before.


	4. Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your company has sent you to Boston to close a deal on the same day you have the most important date of your life at night in New York. Things get complicated, you can’t return to New York and you have to spend the night in Boston with a complete stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story has an open ending. Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
> 
> MY TUMBLR: ladyeliot.tumblr.com

Do you believe that destiny is written? Many people would say that the only destiny that is written, and therefore believe in it, is death. Few people manage to be masters of their destiny, but others think that we are the ones who make destiny. Be that as it may, that night you were discovering that there was a very thin gap between chance and destiny. Maybe you should look for your own destiny, but even so you realised that it never comes alone, it is always accompanied.

That is when we least expect it, when life decides to take you over, placing a challenge in front of your eyes, in which you have to play a big role, to show your courage. At that very moment it makes no sense to assume that we are not ready, even if we really are not, because destiny will not wait for you to be ready. Life does not stop for you, you must decide at that very moment if you decide to move forward or give up.

Chris stopped in the middle of the pavement, tilting his head in the direction of a luminous arrow that offered you the entrance to the basement of a Victorian building. We focused our eyes on the letters and you discovered that it said “destination consultant”. You frowned and looked back at Chris and shook your head comically, these things were not for you.

“Come on!” he exclaimed, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the place. “What worse things can happen to us in the future?”

“What?” you said trying to refuse to go in. “Please don’t tell me you’re serious about this sort of thing?”

“Oh, come on,” he complained, begging you with his eyes.

“ It’ s a fraud,” you said with a chuckle. “Besides, it’ s going to try to get money out of us that we don’t have.”

“Please…” Chris approached you bending down to bring his gaze to the same height as yours.

You exhaled deeply, you weren’t sure if you really trusted these sorts of things, at least you showed them a clear respect, still you didn’t quite want to know what your fate was, nor if the future held positive or negative things for you, you’d rather find out on your own.

“It’s three in the morning,” you said, arching your eyebrows. “If we wake up the consultant, I don’t think he’s going to say nice things, if he really sees them…”

“Don’t worry, he’s a destiny consultant, destiny doesn’t rest,” he said with a small laugh inviting you to come downstairs with him. “ Let’s go.”

Finally you let Chris guide you down the narrow staircase into the darkness to a wooden door. Maybe he was right, destiny wasn’t sleeping, because a layer of light was coming out of the cracks. Your companion rang the doorbell a couple of times, and after two minutes an elderly man in a blue night gown appeared before you.

“Oh, hello!” he exclaimed, baring his teeth in a smile. “Are you here to meet your future, or am I late again with the traffic fines?”

You complemented your frown with a smile at his words.

“We don’t have much money,” you quickly reported before you were caught in a future predicament.

“Never mind,” the man stepped aside so you could pass, “I have nothing better to do tonight.”

You turned your gaze to Chris who offered you with his hand to enter the place first. Inside you discovered that it was more like an office of destiny, decorated as if it were an ordinary house, cosy armchairs, decorative elements of the sixties and a warm aroma of coffee enveloped the whole room. He offered you to take a seat in two armchairs clearly set up for his visitors and you agreed.

“All right,” he positioned himself in front of you and folded his hands. “Who goes first?”

Again, you turned your face to the right to find Chris shrugging, offering you the first place.

“No… You’re not going to draw tarot cards, or read us our hand lines or…?” you asked a little quizzical that he would only sit and watch you.

“Oh dear, that’s all in the past,” he said with a little chuckle. “I think we are in confidence not to have to bring out all that paraphernalia, obviously in an inanimate object I am not going to see what your destiny will be, if what really matters to me is in front of my eyes, you.”

Chris nodded, as if he understood everything he was saying.

“All right, who goes first?” he insisted again, high-fiving their hands.

“Her,” exclaimed Chris pointing at you.

“Start with him,” you said quickly pointing at Chris, crossing your words.

“Okay,” he looked at you simultaneously. “I think our young actor is a lot less skeptical, so… what are we going to do with you young lady?”

You uncrossed your legs, squirming a little uncomfortably as you found his eyes trying to discover something in yours. You felt like you were being emotionally undressed even though you were trying your best to counteract it.

“I see,” he began to say calmly. “You are quite confused. You may be at a crossroads in your life, you believe what you should do, you know what the path is but you also know that’s the easiest path and so you’re heading down it,” he paused, all his words making you think and squint. “But you also think that you are trapped, that there is no solution to what has happened to you.”

You took a parsimonious breath, it was evident that all those words could be a sign of a vagueness that he possibly said to everyone and that it was your brain that was doing the function that was completing them and resembling them with the events that were present in your life.

“But you know you have so many other options, maybe you’re afraid to consider them,” he continued, which made you wonder what those options were.

“Okay,” you nodded a little confused. “And what are the other options?”

“Well, one of them is universal, to walk away.”

“Walk away?” you asked, cocking your head to the side. “From what?”

“Oh, that I don’t know,” he explained, dropping his hands. “That’s what you should know. Like I said, it’s a universal choice, we can all walk away, sometimes it’s impossible to avoid, but sometimes it’s the best we can do.”

Your gaze was lost in the thoughts that those words provoked in you, should you let Michael walk out of your life for good? would it be the best thing to walk away from him?

“Maybe you could have a future together,” he said pointing at Chris smiling, “I know, you’re not a couple, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that your paths have crossed for something in particular.”

You both looked at each other for a millisecond until you turned back to your destiny reader.

“Chris is a great guy, but I don’t think our paths will stay together for long.” You said with a slightly forced smile.

“Well, I’m just introducing you to the various options you can have. This is one of them.” He leaned back in his chair again. “Besides, people meet by the coincidences of life, who told you that those coincidences can’t become your destiny.”

“So, does that mean I can’t control my destiny?” you asked emphasising the curiosity that had arisen in you.

“Not at all, it is your choices that control your own destiny. Coincidences only appear at one time in your life, in one place, you are the one who decides what to do with those coincidences.” He paused slightly. “You decide if you want to make those coincidences your destiny, to share the rest of your life with those coincidences.”

“That’s very easy to say,” you smiled, looking to your right, meeting Chris’s smile.

For the next few minutes you were enveloped in an aura that extrapolated you from everything going on around you, the voices of your two companions could be heard in the background, but you just let your thoughts invade your senses, causing nothing around you to matter.

“[…] that’s what I remember best about the night I met her,” the consultant said with a tender melancholy in his voice, “I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life, with her hair tied back in a blue ribbon. From then on I was never separated from her again.”

“Surely you were a perfect couple,” Chris added.

“The truth is, Chris, nothing is perfect,” she explained. “Life is conflict, that’s what makes it what it is, we can only decide who we want to face it with.”

From the moment your ears picked up those last words you couldn’t shake them, you really couldn’t stop thinking about everything you had heard. You set off again into the darkness of the Boston night, for the tenth time in the night you were setting off again on an aimless journey. Silence enveloped the surroundings and you too, you realised that you were retracing the steps you had taken during the night, arriving once again at that park by the banks of the Charles River. The saxophonist was no longer in his place and that made you feel a little lonelier inside.

The pain in your feet was taking over, making your steps shorter and slower, but at that moment Chris stopped by a bench, making you take the hint and take a seat. A small, comforting pleasure washed over you.

“Well, do you think it’s time to explain to me everything that’s going on in there,” he sat down next to you and pointed to your forehead, “or maybe I have to travel with you all the way to New York to find out?”

There was no doubt that his words were going to bring a shy smile of melancholy to your face, for you were totally homesick since you had set foot on the street again. But you assumed it was time to share your experiences, dispelling any doubts Chris might have in his mind.

“His name is Michael,” you began and let out a loud sigh as you looked straight ahead, gazing at the river. “We met when he moved to New York for work, he works as a lawyer for a law firm that has several offices in the United States,” you explained, as Chris looked on curiously without taking his eyes off you. “We were introduced to some friends we have in common,” you shrugged. “At first there wasn’t much of a connection, but then three months later we hit it off again, that’s how we started dating, one thing led to another, you know,” you nodded to yourself and took a breath. “I guess during that time we ended up falling in love, a year and a half later we moved in together, and so a year later he asked me to marry him,” you showed him the wedding ring mark he had previously uncovered for you. “We were engaged for two years, I guess we just couldn’t find the right time to go through with the wedding. Maybe it was during that period that things went downhill. I was promoted to head of External Relations, it was something I had fought for for a long time, but it meant that what little free time I had was all devoted to my work,” you paused, waiting for the lump in your throat to disappear. “A year later I found out that Michael had been seeing someone else who, unlike me, was able to devote more time to him,” you looked up at Chris with a saddened smile, matching his expression. “When I found out it was the day of our anniversary, I had told him that as usual I would have to work late, so I couldn’t go to dinner at our favourite brasserie, the place where we had our first date, but it wasn’t really true, I just wanted to get home early, prepare dinner and surprise him when he came home from work,” you smiled gloomily. “So that day I left the office much earlier than expected, took the car, went to the supermarket and headed towards our flat. Michael wasn’t supposed to come until after 8pm, but when I opened the door the lights were on and there were noises from upstairs, so I hid everything I’d bought like an idiot so he wouldn’t see it and went to our bedroom. He was there, with her, I recognised her, she was an old work colleague,” you half-open your lips as you remember the image, trying not to let the tears come to your eyes. “That brought our five-year relationship to an end,” you shrugged. “Then he took a new job in Los Angeles. That was almost two years ago.

"But now he’s back in New York,” Chris added in a very cautious tone.

“A month ago we were in touch again, he was the one who contacted me, we talked and he told me that he regretted everything that had happened,” you explained calmly. “That he wanted to see me, that he was going to New York for work and that he was willing to fix all the mistakes he had made. I wasn’t as receptive as he was, obviously my feelings hadn’t gone away, but I told him that I needed to think about it, that I would get back to him when I was sure,” you looked down at the floor, playing with your fingers nervously. “He arrived last Monday, but it wasn’t until Friday that I contacted him, I told him I was willing to see him and talk, but I don’t know why I thought it would be best to talk to him the day before he left. Maybe because then I would know that no matter how the conversation went, there would be no turning back, and I wouldn’t have to see him again,” you closed your eyes and shook your head. “But it doesn’t matter now, because in four hours his plane leaves for Los Angeles. I’ve ruined everything.

Chris hadn’t looked away from you at any point, his expressions varying as your story evolved and he discovered what had really happened. On the contrary, you had chosen not to maintain eye contact, you didn’t know that expressing it out loud would be so painful, there were too many feelings hidden in your words, but on the other hand it was comforting to get rid of them, rewarding and even liberating.

"I don’t think you spoiled anything,” he said calmly, trying to connect your gazes.

“Yes,” you whispered, playing with your fingers nervously. “You didn’t hear the tone in his voice when I called him on the phone, he was so disappointed to hear I wasn’t going to New York. There’s no going back. And sometimes I think I take a lot of the blame for everything.”

“Listen…” Chris grabbed your hands, stopping them. “The only one to blame for what he’s done is him.”

“I guess I know that, and I hate him because he won’t let me be able to trust him again,” you added definitely finding a connection with his blue eyes.

“You hate him, but you also love him,” he inquired with a pleasant tone. “But people don’t change.”

“I’d give anything to start from scratch,” you took a breath shaking your head. “But you’re right, people don’t change.”

“Look at me. Over time I’ve come to understand that we love who we love. And that sucks.” he added tilting his head and generating a slight smile on your face. “But I think after hearing all the words our friend has said to you, I’ve realised that we have a choice, that we have paths to create our own destiny, and that in time I know that both you and I will take the right path.”

The time seemed to disperse around you, in the background you had one of the most idyllic landscapes of the city of Boston, the riverbed showed you the other side of the city on the other side. For once in the night you felt the tranquillity invade your body, it was comforting to sit there, relieving fatigue in every way, both physical and mental, listening to your own breathing without any other sound around you.

“How can one of the worst nights of my life also be one of the best?” your words ran with the wind.

You discovered that it was the instant your gazes met again that you realised everything that was right in front of your eyes. Like a veil that had been covering your gaze all night long, it disappeared the moment you focused your attention on Chris. You found a feeling that you hadn’t had inside your body for a long time, something strange that alerted you to the closeness of your faces and to the fact that the proximity between the two of you was shortening.

Chris offered you all the time and space you needed to process the information that the environment was offering you, to decide for yourself what the next step was going to be and whether you wanted to take it or let it slip away. This continued to be a consequence of the chance that had presented itself to you tonight, he, and only you, could make the decision to move on or to get rid of it by taking another path. The temporary sensation was feeling eternal, but, despite the mess of thoughts you were having, it was undeniable that what you wanted at that moment was to feel him closer to you. You closed your eyes, letting yourself be carried away by the pull that drew you closer to him, the touch of noses seeming to ease the need until your lips met. Soft, cool and wet, they brushed on several occasions until your brain sent a signal to your reason that perhaps you weren’t in the best position to complicate things further.

You lightly rested a hand on his chest, then broke the connection with his lips.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered in front of his face, “I don’t think this…”

“I’m sorry,” he nodded, leaning his forehead against yours, “okay, I’m sorry.”

“I just don’t want to complicate things any further,” you muttered.

“You didn’t,” that smile that had been with you all night reappeared.

The only thing you remember after that moment is how tiredness invaded your body, the comfort and warmth provided by Chris’s body right next to you on that bench had caused your eyelids to subtly droop until sleep enveloped you. Time became unpredictable, the importance of things was lost, you were just two completely exhausted people letting everything around you cradle you.

Maybe it was the sweet melody coming from the branches of the trees or the rays of the sun breaking through your eyelashes, but something made you realise again where you were and your unconscious started up again. You felt a footstep wrap around your waist, the moon was leaving to give way again to the sun rising in the east. The quiet was still all around you, but on your watch you could see that it was past six o'clock in the morning. At any other time, despair would have seized you, but without knowing why, your insides still breathed the peace that had caused you to fall asleep the night before.

You lifted your face slightly, only to find the harmony that filled Chris’s features, who was still peacefully asleep. It was impossible to keep a tender smile from your face as you gazed at him, but your movements caused his body to gradually awaken as well, and just as you had done a few minutes ago, his eyelids gave way to the blue of his eyes.

“Good morning,” you whispered, allowing him time to discover where he was.

“ Morning,” he repeated, stretching his limbs. “What time is it?”

“Twenty to seven, we’ve been asleep for almost three hours,” you informed him.

Chris straightened up on the bench and looked at you with a nod, in case you weren’t quite sure, you saw that the boy was falling asleep with a smile on his face. He got up from the bench and took a hand from inside his jacket pocket, palm up, and held it out to you. You knew your way, for once, you knew that the ticket inside your coat was waiting to be used, that you had to make your way to the South Boston station and after four hours you would be in New York.

With a little hesitation in your movements you definitely took his hand and you both started on a new journey, perhaps your last. There were no words in between, just ten intertwined fingers heading towards the end of a road that began the night before. In the daylight everything seemed different, changed, as if you had never been there before, your eyes saw the surroundings differently, but your body felt it too.

You both looked straight ahead, each of you lost in your ramblings, in your thoughts, avoiding spoiling everything you had created and lived. The station was not far from where you were, only twenty minutes later you were there. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since you both met for the first time inside the station, but it had only been nine hours, nine hours that you had spent together and so many things had happened that were impossible to forget.

You paused for a moment outside, knowing that the moment of farewell was approaching and it was the one thing you didn’t know how to deal with at the moment. The same thing was on Chris’s mind, who finally opened the door so that you could go inside. You noticed that the man who had briefed you last night was at his desk and gave you a little wave with his face.

“The next train to New York leaves in fifteen minutes,” he said, pointing to the illuminated board announcing the next departures.

You looked up at him with a nod, hardly caring if it left in fifteen minutes or if you had to wait hours to catch it, though you actually preferred the latter. Chris guided you to a slightly more secluded corner, avoiding being the centre of attention among the people arriving at the station. The moment you had both been avoiding appeared before you, you stood facing each other, the sadness seemed to have created a halo around you, represented through your gazes and smiles. Still neither of you broke the silence, you didn’t know what was the right thing to say or how you could express your feelings, but as if by magic that contraption made it easy.

Chris held out his hand to a pay phone a few metres away, how was it possible that it had saved your night on several occasions and now it saved your goodbyes?

“Chris? hey, it’s me again,” you covered your face with your hands to hide your laughter. “Listen I need your attention, remember I told you when you got to Boston some crazy stuff was going to happen? Great. Listen, when you get to the South Station you will meet someone, a girl,” he stood silently looking at you. “You’ll think she’s lost and so you’ll go up to her and talk to her.At first she will reject you, she will be cold and a little stubborn,” a small laugh came from inside you, “but after a few minutes you will realise that she needs you, and as time goes by you will discover that you need her too,” you parted your lips, you couldn’t take your eyes off hers. "You’ll think you met her at the South Station for some reason.At first she will reject you, she will be cold and a little stubborn,“ a small laugh came from inside you, "but after a few minutes you will realise that she needs you, and as time goes by you will discover that you need her too,” you parted your lips, you couldn’t take your eyes off hers. "You’ll think you met her at the south station for some reason. So stay by her side, don’t separate from her. I would if I could.“

He was saying so much with those words that you could barely take in half of them at the time. Your gaze was clouded, you didn’t know if it was from exhaustion or from what your ears were hearing, but it was easy to tell when you saw that Chris’s blue eyes were on point.

"And… and when it comes time to say goodbye,” he continued, looking away from you for a second, “you’ll want to say so many things that you won’t know how to say them, but what you learned that night is that it’s best not to overcomplicate things, so please don’t mess it up.” Chris became somewhat serious and nodded. “Just look her in the eye, and… thank her for giving you the best night of your life.”

Again silence came into your eyes, Chris looked a little stiff holding the phone in his hands, but just as he was about to hang it up something came into your mind.

“Oh wait!” you approached him and grabbed the phone to bring it up to your ear. “Chris? It’s Y/N, please don’t remember to activate your bank card. Okay.”

Chris smiled, letting the air slowly leave his lungs, seeking relaxation. You slowly hung the phone back in its place, returning to your original position but having closed the distance to him. His smile disappeared just as he wiped away a small tear that fell on your right cheek, missing only a second for him to bring his lips to yours, closing the little distance you had. Just like the night before, you accepted the gesture with open arms, discovering the pleasurable pleasure of feeling him close to you. It was warm, tender, slow and pleasant, just as he had shown you during those hours what he was like.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, dropping his forehead to yours. “If you could just…”

“What?” you muttered still with your eyes closed.

The next thing you did conditioned you for your whole life, coincidences happen just as that wise man had told you a few hours ago, but it is only you who makes the decisions that will change your destiny. Two possibilities presented themselves in front of you, but you only had one option, take the train that was leaving in five minutes or stay there. You didn’t know which was the right one, you didn’t know what the end of each path would bring, you only knew what you wanted to do at that moment, you weren’t afraid to do it, so for once in your life you thought about yourself, about what you wanted to do and you believed that maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do, but it was what you needed.


End file.
